Dragons star Corey Norman believes livewire fullback Matt Dufty can be the game-breaker the team needs as they attempt to get their season back on course.
Dufty wasn't selected for the first match of the year but injuries opened the door for him against Penrith in round two and the 24-year-old showed enough with a try double to keep the spot.
Dufty's return as St George Illawarra's first-choice fullback leaves a question mark around Zac Lomax's best position.
Lomax spent the pre-season training in the custodian's role but was pushed to the wing after round one. He will play centre against the Warriors at Central Coast Stadium on Saturday.
Norman wasn't sure if Lomax would remain at centre permanently but the five-eighth said both he and Dufty could make an impact.
"I'm not the coach but we'll see how Lomax goes and I think that's his preferred position," Norman said.
"Really looking forward to Loey getting some good ball out there and showcasing his talent. Time will tell and we'll see what happens."
Asked whether Dufty's exciting attacking qualities would help the Dragons make a finals push, Norman said: "Absolutely, yeah.
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"It just goes to show against Penrith, we were under the pump and he took an intercept and went 90 metres and then we got our roll on from there.
"He's lightning, he's got a bit of X-factor about him. Probably last year was a bit hard on him – as a team we probably weren't performing to help him out as well when probably everyone's form was down.
"As long as we keep building confidence in him, he's definitely a good asset to the team."
Captain Cameron McInnes's return from a knee injury at hooker in place of Issac Luke means St George Illawarra's spine will be tweaked for the third time in three games.
Dufty, Norman, halfback Ben Hunt and McInnes are familiar as a 1, 6, 7 and 9 unit, having played together for a chunk of 2019.
"Combinations are important but so is playing well. We want to have that combination going but we need to all play well to warrant that," McInnes said.
"That's the most important thing. Duff's done a great job training-wise and putting his hand up for that spot and he knows what he has to do to keep it.
"Same with Corey and Hunty and myself. Continuity is good but only when you're playing well."
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Norman denied there was any sense of panic at the Dragons just yet despite their 0-2 record with the season being shortened to 20 rounds.
"We've just got to keep things simple, have respect for the ball, be disciplined and we'll start winning games," Norman said.
"The points were there [in rounds one and two]; we just need to hold the ball and be disciplined with our actions.
"I don't think the pressure is on us yet. We can't think like that as well. It's only going to hurt us more if we're thinking like that."